Birthday Buddies
by fridamoonbeam
Summary: Sam just left Ivy's side after a night of birthday celebration, and what she finds is an unexpected man who shares the same birthday. Will this be what she needs? IvyxRick mentions of Divy and Caskett


Ivy slowed stirred the dirty martini, that was becoming less "dirty" as the ice cubes melted down. Just about 20 more minutes and her birthday would have come and gone. Most people freaked when they hit thirty but Ivy was all right with it; seemed pretty small in the scheme of things when she had so many other issues in her life over the past year. She kept going from one extreme to another, sure she was up again, and now the fear Bombshell would be taken away had subsided. Working with her MOM was another issue..

Ivy asked that no one tell her mom about the party, she wanted one night free from all the insecurity that woman jabbed at her. Thing is she did love her mom, but it was kind of a pathetic love where Ivy loved and hated her at the same time. It was the kind of love that was divided against itself. How would that be fixed unless one part completely collapsed? And that would end up taking another. Her mind danced around it but that was how she felt about Derek too…. Was it sad she was kind of hoping he would end up coming? They were friends, and she had been the last to establish it that way. Though she also felt like it was only a matter of time before that changed again too….

Lost in her thoughts she barely noticed someone taking the seat next to her ordering a drink. When he spoke is when her attention fully turned to him.

"Birthday?" he pointed to her cake.

"Yeah." she offered a smile.

"Mine too." He grinned gratefully taking his drink.

"You're lying." she laughed, thinking it was too convient.

"No, see?" he showed her his driver's lisence as proof. "And now I'm disappointed they didn't ask for ID."

She grinned and nodded. "You're a man it doesn't matter as much." Ivy's brows twisted seeing the name on the driver's lisence. "You're Richard Castle?" He did look familiar to her!

"The one and only."

"Oh my God, we share the same birthday, I had no idea." Ivy mused taking a sip of her drink.

"You don't ever google to see what famous people have the same birthday as you?"

"No, it seems a little pathetic." Ivy shook her head not seeing the desire.

"Well I'll have you know we share a birthday with Lucy Lawless."

"Xena?" Ivy smirked.

"I can forgive you for the 'pathetic' comment now." he clinked his glass with her's and Ivy laughed. "Now… Beautiful blonde sitting alone on the night of her birth— why is that? What's her story?"

"My story? Hmm, I should ask you the same thing since you do write about serial killers." Ivy teased him.

"True, but I asked you first— So I win."

"I asked you second— So I win."

"When has that ever been a rule?"

"I don't know." Ivy just laughed turning her stool his direction. "Well I wasn't alone I was with my friends who threw me a birthday, and my best guy friend got liza Minnelli of all the people in the world to sing me a song. I'm just sitting back for bit now." Ivy shrugged telling him the lighter details of the evening she had. "And you?"

"Also dinner with friends minus the Minnelli."

"I win."

"So competitive."

"You started it." she grinned back at him.

"Hmm, okay, best and worst moment of the year?"

"Best and worst, why end on a bad note?" Ivy asked.

"Writer—" Rick pointed towards himself. "Always start with the positives."

"Touche'." Ivy had to give him that. "Best— being cast as Marilyn Monroe in Bombshell."

"Oh… Wow, now I feel stupid I should have been looking for your name when I was googling famous birthdays." Rick quipped then a more sincere smile settled on his face. "Congratulations, and I can see why they picked you, Miss…"

"Ivy Lynn." she introduced herself.

"Ivy Lynn, love how that rolls off the tongue like you're an ex-exotic dancer." He quirked a naughty eyebrow. "Are you?"

"I went by Poison Ivy." she bounced with her hand on the back of her head then laughed. "No."

"All right, dream killed. And now here's the downer— the worst?"

Ivy's mouth went dry, then spoke after a long moment "There were a lot of them. I sank really low and…. I just wanna leave that behind…. I was dating this guy and ever since I started dating him things became worse." Don't tell him about the possible suicide….

"You're not still with him are you?" She seemed so hurt to touch on that topic, it was jarring from her demeanor a few minutes ago.

"No, he cheated on me, demoted me, then fired me." She still cared which was the hard part about it all.

"I'm sorry." Rick regretted asking from how her face changed, he was curious but knew it wasn't his business to pry into her life. He had a difficult year too, finding out sometimes things don't work like you wanted them too on paper. Everything's good on paper…. "I may have ruined your birthday now."

"No. And if I guilt trip you then I would have ruined your birthday." Ivy offered a smile to show she wasn't mad but not about to open up right then.

"And the universe would implode on itself."

She wasn't able to finish her drink, he was so quick with a joke. "Stop making me laugh. Vodka is going to come out of my nose— Painful and unattractive."

"Hmm, someone has a fetish site for that."

"Damn you!" She kept laughing."Are you always on like this?"

"I'll tell you what, Master Thespian. Let's have our last drink before our birthday is over then I'll take you on a date and you can find out."

"What now?" Ivy said smiling wondering if he was wanting to celebrate the last of his birthday with her.

"No, not now. Any guy who would ask this late on your birthday is probably one you don't wanna date…." Rick mused it seemed fairly slime-ballish.

Ivy thought for a minute ordering her their final round then looked at Rick. He was REALLY cute. He was nice and had a look like he was hiding a fun secret, a twinkle in those blue eyes, and dusty brown hair. He was nice and broad too, in a way he was the anti-Derek, which made this harder. "Thank you, I want to but…"

"It's all right." Rick said waving it away not wanting her to feel guilty, maybe he wasn't even ready for this, though she was fun and feisty…. "Another toast to our birthday?"

Ivy smiled and nodded taking her glass and clinging his watching the clock go down. She wanted to say yes, Ivy was curious about him, what kind of guy he was. He was nice enough to not be angry that she turned down his date.

They spent the next few minutes talking before Rick too parted, "You sure you don't want me to walk you to a cab?"

"I'm just around the corner."

"Happy Birthday, Ivy." Rick smirked before leaving though his pace was slow taking in what little of the night remained.

"Happy Birthday, Rick." she said before he left. Ivy glanced down again at her drink, with an odd numb feeling. She must have been a little drunk because sure, he was hot and fun to talk to, but she shouldn't feel guilty for not taking up his offer. Ivy smirked wondering what a complete night with him would be like. He wanted to make it a night on it's own….

A card was flipped in front of her beside her drink, she looked up and saw Derek standing there, smirking at her.

"You didn't think I was gonna forget your birthday, did you?"

Ivy looked down at the card, remember what Rick said a few minutes ago. _Any guy who would invade this late on your birthday is probably one you don't wanna date…. _

Well… He was a guy, and would know….

Ivy smirked back at Derek. "I'm glad you didn't." Because then she wouldn't get to do this— "But I really need to get up early for rehearsal. Thanks for the card though." Ivy kissed his temple, feeling a strange sense of empowerment, kind of stupid but she quickened her pace in her gold platforms leaving the restaurant, hoping to catch him. "Rick? Erm, Castle?"

Rick turned to Ivy, giving a broad grin. "Yes?"

"Tomorrow night is the premiere of Bombshell. Did you want to be my date?" This was way too soon, but she'd made worse decisions based on less. "Then you could tell me your best and worst moments."

He closed the space between them, looking down at her "How about we just look at the best right now. I'd love to be your guest, Birthday Girl."

"Glad to hear it, Birthday boy…"

((OOC: This is kind of inspired by the fact Nathan Fillion and Megan hilty have birthdays that are super close. Well he's ten years older but the dates are like two days apart. I'd love to see these two work together though 333))


End file.
